Dominican judge grants release from custody to presumed last person seen with missing US student

Record ID: 1984371

  • Title: Dominican judge grants release from custody to presumed last person seen with missing US student
  • Date: 19th March 2025
  • Summary: HIGUEY, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC (MARCH 18, 2025) (REUTERS) ***WARNING: CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** VARIOUS OF PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE BUILDING JUDICIAL TRANSLATOR AND WITNESS JOSHUA RIIBE’S CHATTING MAGISTRATE EDWIN RIJO ENTERING ROOM FOR HEARING (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) MAGISTRATE, EDWIN RIJO, SAYING: "Being fair, legal, and prudent, any threat to this citizen's freedom should ceas
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  • Keywords: Punta Cana US dissapearence hearing tourist
  • Location: HIGUEY, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
  • City: HIGUEY, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
  • Country: Dominican Republic
  • Topics: Crime/Law/Justice,South America / Central America
  • Reuters ID: LVA001012619032025RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: PART AUDIO QUALITY AS INCOMING
    A Dominican Republic judge ruled on Tuesday (March 18) that the witness presumed to be the last person to see missing U.S. student Sudiksha Konanki alive should be freed from police surveillance.
    During 22-year-old Joshua Riibe’s hearing in the city of Higuey, the judge Edwin Rijo said “to date, it has not been possible to demonstrate anything beyond the typology given to him as a witness.”
    With this decision, the judge stipulated that Riibe, also a U.S. student, can move freely in the Dominican territory, since he is considered a “witness”, so there is no need to monitor him or restrict his freedom.
    However, Riibe’s return to the U.S. remains unclear as there was no immediate decision about returning his passport, which authorities had confiscated. Regarding the request for the return of his passport, the magistrate pointed out that the hearing was not the appropriate scenario to discuss the issue.
    Sudiksha Konanki, a 20-year-old pre-med student, went missing on March 6 - two days before an international day of activism for women's rights - during a spring break trip to Punta Cana.
    Dominican authorities have not filed any criminal charges against Riibe but maintain that his testimony is crucial to the investigation, as he was reportedly the last person to interact with Konanki on the night of her disappearance.
    Meanwhile, the parents of Konanki have asked police to declare their daughter legally deceased, according to a letter released by a police source on Monday (March 17).
    The investigation into the case remains open.
    (Production: Jesus Frias, Gloria Lopez)
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